We have all seen newspapers left behind on park benches and discarded coffee cups at bus stops. In a behavioural observation study, Keep Britain Tidy’s researchers found that placed or ‘careful’ litter is the second most prevalent littering behaviour, after litter carelessly chucked on the ground. Unfortunately, placed litter causes just as much damage to our environment and neighbourhoods as thrown litter.
It’s still littering
Here at environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, we have launched an initiative to highlight the impact that ‘careful’ littering’ can have. It’s a behaviour that more than one in four people (26%) in Heckmondwike admit to and we want to spread the word: it’s still littering, it still ends up damaging the environment and it’s still breaking the law.
Leaving packaging tucked neatly behind when eating or drinking ‘on the go’, gently placing a can or coffee cup on a wall or ledge, or sidling away from rubbish at a train station or bus stop before boarding – you may think these are harmless acts, but it is littering all the same. It is not only bad for the environment, but it can also undermine our sense of pride in the area. Careful littering can affect our mental wellbeing and make us feel unsafe.
Our latest initiative is part of the Love Where You Live Heckmondwike campaign – a community-led effort to tackle litter and restore local pride. A recent local survey found more than a third (37%) of Heckmondwike residents do not feel proud to live in the area, and national research by Keep Britain Tidy has shown that living in a heavily littered area can have a negative impact on our mental health.
A rubbish reality
To give wider context, the A Rubbish Reality report that we published earlier this year showed that more than 90% of sites across England surveyed over the past 10 years contained litter and almost three times as much litter was found in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived. This is a statistic that we think is absolutely unacceptable; we all deserve to live in a clean and safe environment.
Our report also highlighted how seas of litter on our streets are affecting people’s lives. When shown an image of a heavily littered street, two thirds of survey respondents (66%) said that they wouldn’t feel safe walking there at night, 86% said they would feel embarrassed to live there and two in three (67%) felt that living in such an area would negatively affect their mental health.
But there’s hope. Nearly half (44%) of Hecky residents agree that they’d be willing to work together to make a difference to the way the area looks. We’re challenging residents to rethink what littering looks like. And reassuringly, a 41% reduction in littering in areas running the ‘still littering’ behaviour change intervention has been recorded in Heckmondwike since the campaign began. We’re witnessing how the movement is encouraging local people to reconnect with their community and play a part in making their environment cleaner, greener and more cared for.
Love Where You Live Heckmondwike
Over the next year, Heckmondwike will see everything from school-led clean-ups and litter-picking days to business partnerships. This builds on the impact of behaviour change interventions tackling specific issues like dog mess, fly-tipping and cigarette butts – the UK’s most prevalent, and often overlooked, form of litter.
To address this, a targeted campaign has been rolled out to encourage adults who smoke to dispose of their cigarette butts properly. The initiative combines bold billboard and digital advertising with practical solutions including the distribution of free Butt Boxes – small portable ashtrays – through local pubs and businesses, and the installation of smoking bins with messaging in litter hotspots.
The overall aim is to empower the community with the tools and incentives they need to help make a real difference. The impact of each initiative will be carefully measured with the aim with the aim of scaling up our action on litter elsewhere. Litter reductions as a result of the interventions placed in Heckmondwike are being closely monitored by Kirklees Council, who are working with alongside Keep Britain Tidy on the project.
It’s also part of the Litter Pact project, with support from Kirklees Council, and leading food and drinks brands Coca-Cola, KFC, Mars Wrigley, McDonald’s and Nestlé with the aim of investing in research and programmes to reduce litter.
Get involved
So, it’s over to you! There are lots of opportunities for local residents to get involved by signing up as either a business/community group to receive resources to help engage customers and locals in our litter initiatives; as a school or nursery to help use the student voice to shape the project; or as an individual to join community events and help spread the word!
I urge the local people of Heckmondwike to come forward and support this exciting opportunity to transform their area, together. By working collectively, small changes in behaviour can make a big difference to everyone.
To sign up to an initiative or for more info go to: Love Where You Live Heckmondwike | Keep Britain Tidy
